Ohio Health Insurance
How healthy is living in Ohio?
According to a report by a national foundation, Ohio was the 29th healthiest state in which to live in 2007. That's slightly worse that the year before, when it was 24th.
The report looks at 20 criteria when ranking the states. In these, Ohio was in the top ten in only one: it ranks 8th for the percentage of citizens covered by health insurance.
On the other end, it has five rankings in the bottom ten for its struggles in these areas:
- #45 for poor mental health days
- #43 for cancer deaths
- #43 for obesity
- #41 for infant mortality
- #40 for preventable hospitalizations
The number of obese Ohio citizens leapt from 24.3 percent in 2006 when the state ranked 24th to 28.4 percent in 2007. Weight gain is an epidemic nationwide. In Ohio back in 1990, the precent was only 11.3. By 2000 it edged over 20 percent.
See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Ohio.
Does Ohio have a risk pool for the uninsurable?
No, Ohio does not offer a risk pool for its citizen's who are medically-uninsurable. Contact your state officials.
Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state-to-state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the poolto keep it in the black. In the best cases they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Find more on risk pools here.
Cover The Uninsured's guide on finding health insurance in Ohio
Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Ohio.
- Its guide on how to find health insurance in Ohio.
- Materiales En Español -- Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.
Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Ohio
Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations contribute to funding its research. Find more on the Health Policy Institute.
News headlines on Ohio health insurance
Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Ohio at Google News or Yahoo News.
Want single-payer health care? Concerned about the uninsured?
Contact your elected officials about health care issues
Contact your federal officials. Phone calls are best. Faxes are good, too. Since 9-11 postal mail creates long delays, and many members of Congress simply do not take e-mail seriously -- however, since e-mail is so easy it doesn't hurt to do that, too. Members of the Senate and Congress will usually ignore any correspondence that is not from their district, so its not desirable to blanket e-mail them (this type of abuse is why many do not view it favorably). The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a guide on how to contact your elected officials, including a valuable list of dos and dont's.
- Contact the White House
Phone: toll free 1-800-671-7887 (ask for the Comment Line)
FAX: 1 202-456-2461 (fax)
E-mail:comments@whitehouse.gov
- Find contact information on your U.S. Representative
Locate by using your ZIP Code
Or if you know who your representative is, simply call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-800-962-3524
- Senator Sherrod Brown
PHONE: 202-224-2315 (DC office)
FAX: 202-228-6321 (DC office)
Local offices (bottom right of page)
Contact by E-mail
- Senator George Voinovich
PHONE: 202-224-3353 (DC office)
FAX: not available (DC office)
Local offices
Contact by E-mail
- Ohio Governor Ted Strickland
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
PHONE: (614) 466-3555
FAX: (614) 466-9354
Contact by e-mail
- Contact your Ohio State Senator
- Contact your Ohio State Representative
USNews health insurance rankings for Ohio
US News does an annual ranking of what it considers the best health insurance plans in each state. Visit its reports on various health insurance or medical insurance plans being offered in Ohio.
Official State Goverment Sites with Ohio Health Insurance Information
State of Ohio Department of Insurance Homepage -- The State of Ohio's department of insurance provides official information all types of insurance.
Ohio Shopper's Guide to Health Insurance & HMOs in PDF format -- This guide describes the difference between individual and group coverage, examines Ohio's minimum coverage requirements and explains managed care plans. You will also find information on what to do if you change jobs or have a baby. We have information regarding your rights as a consumer and the responsibilities of insurance carriers conducting business in Ohio. NOTE: When last checked (2/10/08) this guide was being updated and may or may not be available at this link.
Consumer complaint ratio on different health insurance plans -- A PDF document from the State of Ohio showing the ratio of consumer complaints on various health insurance plans, and more. Biggest complaints seem to be for Vantage and Physicians Mutual, neither of which are offered on this site.
Ohio Department of Health main page. Deals with many issues affecting health care delivery in Ohio.
Ohio HIPAA information -- Describes what the State of Ohio is doing to comply with requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Ohio Department of Mental Health -- Each year, Ohio’s community mental health systems provide services to more than 260,000 people, including 75,000 adults who are disabled by severe mental illness and 70,000 children with emotional disorders. More information at the department's Web site.
Federal government sites with specific Ohio health insurance information
National Mental Health Information Centers listing of Ohio Mental Health Resources published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services
Ohio health insurance, health care and consumer advocacy
Health Freedom Coalition of Ohio -- It's "about" page states it is dedicated to passing laws in Ohio that will protect the consumer's right to choose their own healthcare practitioner and practice.
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